1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for use in transporting shoes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a person travels, it is often the case that he or she packs one or more pair of shoes in addition to the ones being worn. It is common for shoes to be packed in a suitcase along with the traveler's clothes and other articles, and such packing of shoes tends to be done in a random, as opposed to an organized, manner. Shoes can take up a substantial amount of suitcase space, and the random packing of shoes in a suitcase most likely results from the traveler endeavoring to make an efficient use of available suitcase space. Additionally, packing shoes a suitcase often requires the traveler to put the shoes in a plastic bag or the like to prevent polish or dirt on the shoes from soiling the traveler's clothes which are also packed in the suitcase.
Upon arrival of his or her destination, the traveler does not usually have a convenient place in which to keep the shoes. The traveler may, for example, opt either to live out of a suitcase and to remove a given pair of shoes from the suitcase as needed or to strew the shoes in a random, haphazard manner on the floor of the room or a closet. Neither of these alternatives is convenient.
Various approaches have been suggested for transporting shoes; however, these approaches have focused on providing shoe cases which are in the form of a standard type suitcase. Examples of such shoe cases are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,705,150; 1,921,110; 1,968,580; 2,634,835; 2,698,689; 2,874,813; 3,001,650; 3,414,093; and 4,699,267. None of the shoe cases described in the above-identified patents adequately solve the problem of providing a convenient mechanism for transporting the shoes and having them be conveniently available to the traveler upon arrival at his or her destination. That novel and useful result has been achieved by the apparatus of the present invention.